There was no tech when Smith wrote the book, only human nature. Thank you for reading confessions of felix krull confidence man. American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. I seldom smoked at parties because I was already plenty stoned from the day’s smoking and because mixing pot and booze made me dizzy and nauseated. In-and-in - an actor from the 'foundation work' who seem skeptical and cynical about the deal earlier, now goes all in. A man who swindles his victims by using a confidence game. All effort and preparation is made so the victim's decision is most likely to go in one direction. The Hurrah - crisis / change of events, and now the victim must make a quick decision. The payoff can be a fake dividend for example. Pay-off - when people see a tangible reward, all the cynicism or caution will normally be forgotten. Greed and quick thinking bring out the worst in people. The method, medium and first impression are always crucial.īuild up - victim is given some honey pot or other sweetener to induce them to enter the scheme. Confessions of Felix Krull, confidence man.

People tend to trust information told by another about you (rather than what you say about yourself), so having another to vouch for you is always helpful.Īpproach - the victim is contacted. Smith goes through the six stages needed to set up a con, includingįoundation work - the con artist figures what supporting people he needs in which roles, and plans the con. We've used this technique on ethical penetration tests and vulnerability assessments. its almost 100 years ago! How could it be relevant for modern cyber crimes? (compared to the cyber kill-chain). Smith telling the story of William C Crosby.īut. Confessions of a confidence man - a book for suckers (1923) by Edward H.